TV Reruns May Replenish Tired Minds

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Watching a favorite rerun of a TV show is like slipping on a pair
of sweatpants for the mind. And new research shows it could prime
a person to tackle a difficult task by helping to restore
self-control and willpower.

"People have a limited pool of these valuable mental resources,"
Jaye Derrick, a scientist at the University at Buffalo's Research
Institute on Addictions, said in a statement. "When they use them
on a task, they use up some of this limited resource. Therefore,
they have less
willpower and self-control for the next task."

Derrick explained that these mental resources do return over
time, but some activities — like watching a rerun — can speed up
their restoration.

"When you watch a favorite re-run, you typically don't have to
use any effort to control what you are thinking, saying or
doing," Derrick said. "You are not exerting the mental energy
required for self-control or willpower. At the same time, you are
enjoying your 'interaction,' with the TV show's characters, and
this activity restores your energy."

In one of the studies Derrick conducted, she had a group of
participants keep a daily diary about their effortful tasks,
media consumption and energy levels. These logs revealed that the
participants were more likely to seek out a rerun of their
favorite television show, or to revisit a favorite movie or
book, if they had to do effortful tasks during the day. [ 5
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In another part of the research, participants had to either
complete a task that required concentration or a similar
less-structured task that didn't require so much effort. Then,
half of the participants wrote about their favorite TV show while
the others listed items in their room, considered a "neutral"
task. To see if either task renewed or reduced their willpower
and energy, the researchers had participants complete a writing
task.

Those who had written about their fave television show wrote for
longer if they had completed a structured task than if they had
done the less-structured, less effortful task.

But vegging out indiscriminately in front of any TV show didn't
have the same effect, the researcher found.

"Just watching whatever is on television does not provide the
same benefit," Derrick said. "And perhaps surprisingly, watching
a new episode of a favorite television show for the first time
does not provide the same benefit."

Her research was published in the journal Social Psychological
and Personality Science.